UNITED NATIONS — Mike Waltz nearly definitely is not going to make his debut as President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations throughout a gathering of world leaders subsequent week after delays and procedural hurdles postponed his affirmation.
Waltz’s nomination was despatched again to the Senate International Relations Committee final week after Democrats blocked greater than two dozen of Trump’s govt department nominees. His bid will face one other committee vote Wednesday earlier than heading to the Senate flooring, however it’s all however not possible that he could be confirmed by the total chamber earlier than the high-level Common Meeting assembly begins on Monday.
“Senate Democrats’ extension of their blockade on President Trump’s nominations is a deterrent to bipartisan committee work and has harm America’s standing on the world stage,” Sen. Jim Risch, GOP chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee, mentioned in a press release. “Republicans are getting the Senate again to work, and I’m assured Mr. Waltz will probably be in place within the coming weeks.”
Waltz served for mere weeks as Trump’s nationwide safety adviser earlier than he was ousted in Might after mistakenly including a journalist to a non-public Sign chat used to debate delicate navy plans. He has denied being faraway from the publish, as a substitute claiming he was tapped for the U.N. position and stating that the chat met the administration’s cybersecurity requirements. The Pentagon inspector common is investigating.
By the point the White Home despatched the Florida Republican’s paperwork to the Senate for the affirmation course of to start, the U.N. place had been vacant for almost six months. It’s the final one to be crammed in Trump’s Cupboard following months of delay, together with the withdrawal of the earlier nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, over considerations in regards to the Republicans’ Home majority.
It’s unclear why Waltz wasn’t superior earlier than Democrats employed the procedural transfer, on condition that his nomination moved out of committee final month with bipartisan help.
A Democratic congressional aide mentioned the White Home had proven “no urgency” in getting Waltz confirmed earlier than subsequent week’s main U.N. gathering. He would have been representing the US alongside Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who now additionally serves as nationwide safety adviser.
Secretary-Common António Guterres, left, and former president of the Common Meeting Philemon Yang, proper, look on, as Annalena Baerbock, middle, holds up a gavel after being sworn in because the president of the eightieth session of the United Nations Common Meeting at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. Credit score: AP/Seth Wenig
A White Home official mentioned Trump “has been clear” that he needs all of his nominees confirmed as shortly as attainable. The official — who, just like the aide, spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly — didn’t touch upon Waltz’s nomination particularly.
Republicans on Wednesday are more likely to vote to verify Waltz and greater than 25 different Trump nominees who had been despatched again to committee en bloc, deploying a brand new tactic to make it simpler to verify massive teams of individuals picked to fill administration positions after last-minute negotiations with Democrats fell aside.
The transfer by Senate Majority Chief John Thune, R-S.D., is the most recent salvo after a dozen years of gradual modifications by each events to weaken the filibuster and make the nominations course of extra partisan.
When Waltz is finally confirmed, he’ll arrive on the U.N. headquarters in New York at a time of nice change for the worldwide group, which simply celebrated its eightieth anniversary. The world physique is reeling from Trump’s resolution this yr to slash overseas help funding, which has massively affected its humanitarian help businesses and foreshadowed further U.S. funding cuts to the U.N. annual finances.
At his affirmation listening to in July, Waltz mentioned U.N. income “has quadrupled within the final 20 years,” but it surely hasn’t been commensurate with elevated peace.
“The U.S. should make sure that each overseas help greenback and each contribution to a world group, notably the U.N., attracts a straight and direct line to a compelling U.S. nationwide curiosity,” he testified to senators.
